Toyo Eatery And Metiz Among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants

When Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants released its 51-100 list of the top restaurants in the region last week, we were dismayed to find not a single Filipino restaurant made it. But tonight, we’re thrilled to announce that not just one but two local restaurants made it to the top 50 Best Restaurants in Asia! Namely, Toyo Eatery at number 42, and Metiz at number 48. Amazing!

This is the first time Filipino restaurants made it to the top 50. In 2021, Antonio’s Tagaytay and Gallery by Chele ranked 84 and 90 respectively. And last year, in 2022, Gallery by Chele was ranked 69, Antonio’s Tagaytay ranked 74, and Toyo Eatery was at number 94.  

Toyo Eatery 

Now at number 42, Toyo Eatery won recognition as early as 2019 when it debuted at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants by winning the Miele One To Watch award. As mentioned, it landed at number 94 last year, and this year rose to number 42. 

Toyo Eatery offers a la carte and tasting menus that present Filipino ingredients in modern ways, often playing with fermentation and preservation techniques to create bold new flavors. It’s signature dish is the Bahay Kubo, an elegant salad composed of the 18 vegetables mentioned in the popular Tagalog folk song. Other hit dishes include pork barbecue served three ways and tortang talong omelet with banana ketchup. 

It’s helmed by Chef Jordy Navarra, who has worked at former World’s 50 Best Restaurant The Fat Duck in the United Kingdom, and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant regular Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. He opened Toyo Eatery in 2016, developing the concept “around his own memories and Filipino heritage.” The restaurant has consistently focused on Filipino produce and fosters long-term relationships with local farmers, food producers and artisans. 

Toyo Eatery was also awarded the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award 2023 for its commitment to planet-friendly food and practices. As of 2023, 90 percent of its ingredients are locally sourced, and two thirds are organic and traceable — with targets to raise this by 2025. Toyo Eatery makes use of rare local produce, such as gamet seaweed and Mountain violet heirloom rice, which support sutainable farming practices. The restaurant is also hailed for preserving cultural heritage by fostering relationships with local farmers and artisans. Best of all, Toyo Eatery has a clear plan of action for the future. Last year, it removed beef from the menu and half the dishes are now vegetarian or vegan.

0917 720 8630 } FB: @toyoeatery | IG: @toyoeatery | Website: toyoeatery.com | Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Avenue, Extension, Makati

Metiz

Opened in 2019, Metiz takes its name from the word mestizo, referring to the mixed Filipino and foreign ancestry of its chef-owner Stephan Duhesme, a globe trotting Filipino-French who’s worked in restaurants in Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo and in the Philippines. It also refers to the menu, which reflects Duhesme’s heritage and the influences he’s picked up from his travels and experience. 

The restaurant is a showcase of Filipino cuisine and ingredients, with an emphasis on fermentation. Expect a lot of fermented produce. For example, the eight-step menu includes courses such as tofu with fermented pineapple, aged tanguigue with fermented rice and mushroom, banana leaf cake with rice, and fresh fermented white bean. 

Even the excellent cocktail menu continues the fermentation theme. Prepare yourself for bold and funky flavors, dishes made with rare ingredients, and mood lighting. 

0917 700 4109 | FB: @metizresto | IG: @metizresto | Karrivin Plaza, GF Building A, 2316 Chino Roces Avenue, Extension, Makati 

For more the full list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, click here.

Lead photos: Toyo Eatery, Metiz